An embodiment of the invention relates to a methodology and system for testing a microelectronic or integrated circuit device that has an integrated millimeter wave antenna structure. Other embodiments are also described.
Recent advances in microelectronic or integrated circuit fabrication technology have paved the way for system-on-a-chip (SoC) devices that also have integrated radio frequency (RF) transmitter and/or receiver circuitry. Such integrated radio devices have become commonplace in consumer grade products that rely on wireless communications, such as cellular telephones and notebook or laptop computers. The challenge posed by testing the RF functionality of such integrated radio devices in the high volume manufacture (HVM) setting has been met in part by recent developments in RF automatic test equipment (ATE). These can provide high testing throughput by combining mixed analog, RF and digital testing with automated wafer and package handling capabilities.
Typical RF ATE incorporate RF instrumentation circuitry. These are used for making conductive or guided wave RF measurements taken from an integrated radio device (e.g., VSWR, S-parameters, and intermodulation, in addition to many others). The ATE supports one or more RF ports, which can source and measure continuous and modulated signals typically in the range 10 MHz-6 GHz.
For testing packaged devices, a load board, that may incorporate custom circuitry specific for testing a particular device under test (DUT), is conductively connected to the RF instrumentation circuitry (and to DC power, digital inputs/outputs, and ground connections in the ATE), by for example RF cables and connectors, e.g. blind mate SMA or SMP type connectors. Typically, a single RF port is dedicated for each input or output RF signal in the DUT. The load board may have a socket to receive the packaged DUT that has been picked up and delivered to it by an automatic handler. Once the DUT has been installed in the socket, its power and signal pins are conductively coupled to the DUT side of the instrumentation circuitry. A tester computer is connected to the tester side of the instrumentation circuitry. The tester runs software to conduct a test procedure in which the instrumentation circuitry is commanded to stimulate the DUT and capture the DUT's RF output response, which are then stored by the tester in digital form.
For testing a DUT at the wafer level, an automated probe card can be used. The probe card may have RF contact probes that can touch down onto matching conductive RF input or output pads on a top or bottom face of one or more DUTs (in the same wafer), to route RF signals (and DC power) between the DUT and the instrumentation circuitry. On its tester side, the probe card may be connected to the tester through RF cabling. Thus, the DUTs in the wafer can be subjected to conductive RF testing under control of the tester.